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99designs.com
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99designs.com

11 technologies
VerifiedGrowingVisit2.6M/mo$1.3B3.7K11 Tech
Deep Dive

99designs: The Unfair Design Marketplace

How a platform built on contests became a $1.3B revenue machine for global creatives

99designs isn't just a design marketplace—it's the most controversially successful model for crowdsourcing creativity in the digital age. While purists decry the 'spec work' model, the platform has facilitated over 500,000 happy customer projects, proving that velocity and choice often trump traditional agency relationships.

$1.3B
Annual Revenue
2.5M
Monthly Visits
59%
Direct Traffic
4.4/5
Trustpilot Score

"99designs commoditized the creative brief. By turning design into a competition, they scaled supply and demand simultaneously—trading perfection for velocity."

The Contest Flywheel

99designs' core innovation was gamifying the design process. Clients post a brief, designers submit concepts, and the winner gets paid. This creates a powerful network effect: more clients attract more designers, which increases the quality and variety of submissions, attracting even more clients. The data proves it works—59% of their traffic is direct, indicating strong brand loyalty and repeat usage.

The Global Design Army

With 3,749 employees and a presence in 90+ countries, 99designs operates a hybrid model. They're not just a platform; they're a global employer. The company's revenue ($1.3B) relative to headcount suggests massive productivity per employee, driven by their platform's automation and scale. This isn't a traditional agency—it's a design factory optimized for throughput.

The tech stack reveals their scale strategy: WordPress for content, Magento for e-commerce, AWS CloudFront for global delivery, and Tailwind CSS for rapid UI development. They're not building custom everything; they're assembling best-in-class tools to move fast. The 4.5M backlinks they've accumulated aren't accidental—they're the result of a content strategy that turns every design contest into a potential backlink opportunity.

  • The 'spec work' controversy: Designers work for free until they win, creating ethical debates but undeniable client value
  • Direct traffic dominance (59%) shows they've built a brand that bypasses search—clients come straight to them
  • The $45M funding round was strategic, not survival-driven; they've been profitable for years
  • Trustpilot's 4.4/5 from 1,495 reviews proves the model works despite industry criticism
Doesn't pay designers for losing entries
Delivers 100+ design concepts in 48 hours
Can't match the depth of a dedicated agency relationship
Transparent pricing vs. agency retainers
Quality can be inconsistent without curation
Global talent pool accessible to SMBs

The Amazon of Design

99designs won't replace high-end agencies, but it's eating the SMB design market alive. For founders and investors, it's a masterclass in platform economics—turning subjective creative work into a scalable, predictable service.

What tech stack does 99designs use?

13 detected
Media1
Security1
Cloud & Hosting1
E-commerce & Payments1
Analytics & Marketing1
Web Standards1
Build Tools1
Tracking & Analytics2
G
Google Analytics
A
Amazon CloudFront

How much traffic does 99designs get?

Traffic & Engagement

1.3M
Monthly Visits
-18.6%
10.6
Pages/Visit
17:00
Avg. Duration
35%
Bounce Rate
Monthly Traffic Trend-22%
1.7M
Oct 2025
Oct
1.7M
Nov 2025
Nov
1.3M
Dec 2025
Dec

Rankings

#37,993
Global Rank
#3,029
Indonesia Rank
Online Services
Category

Backlinks & Authority

4.5M
Backlinks
36.1K
Ref. Domains
62
Authority Score
Low
Penalty Risk
Backlinks Trend-6%
4.8M
Jul 2025
Jul
4.8M
Aug 2025
Aug
4.6M
Sep 2025
Sep
4.4M
Oct 2025
Oct
4.3M
Nov 2025
Nov
4.5M
Dec 2025
Dec

Search Traffic

Organic
691.7K
Paid
7.9K

Top Organic Keywords

#199designs
14,800 vol26.0%
#199d
1,900 vol3.3%
#199 designs
1,600 vol2.8%
#199designs login
880 vol1.5%
#4color theory
8,100 vol1.2%

Where is 99designs's audience located?

🇮🇩Indonesia24.8%
🇺🇸United States22.8%
🇮🇳India13.9%
🇧🇩Bangladesh6.6%
🇵🇰Pakistan4.0%

Device Distribution

Desktop71.9%
Mobile28.1%

What keywords does 99designs rank for?

5 keywords
199designs57.5K vol$2.06
299 designs17.7K vol$5.61
399design3.8K vol$0.30
499 design4.5K vol$0.25
599desigm1.3K vol$8.07

How is 99designs's SEO?

Open Graph Image

OG Image preview
og:image

https://99designs.co.uk/og-image.png

Meta Tags

title46 chars

Logos, Web, Graphic Design & More. | 99designs

description199 chars

The global creative platform for custom graphic design: logos, websites and more. Hire a talented designer or start a design contest. 500k+ happy customers have used 99designs to grow their business.

languageEN-GB

H1 Tags

h1Grow with great design

Schema Types

OrganizationSiteNavigationElement

Who works at 99designs?

Loading leads...

What do customers think of 99designs?

99designs

99designs

4.4
1,495 reviews
✓ Claimed

Categories

Business to Business Service#189Web designer#12

Activity & Engagement

Reply Rate
96.42857142857143%
Avg. Reply Time
8.0 days
Claimed Date
9/5/2016

Contact Information

Address:
2201 Broadway Suit 815
Oakland, US

Reviews (20)

Filter by rating:
Novruz Hasanov
1/20/2026
🇦🇿 Az1 reviewsBasicLinkVerified
Experience date: 1/14/2026
Helpful support and reliable platform

I had a positive experience with 99designs. The support team was responsive and professional, especially when I had questions about payouts. My issue was handled clearly and in a timely manner. The platform is easy to use and offers good opportunities for designers to work with international clients. Overall, I’m satisfied with the service and support.

Asra Abital
1/15/2026
🇮🇩 Indonesia1 reviewsBasicLinkVerified
Experience date: 1/13/2026
A swift follow-up and response

A swift follow-up and response from the 99Designs Team. I have a concern about the payment. Lina followed up quickly regarding the issue and assured me that it is part of the system and should appear in my balance within two business days. This has proven to be true.

Dave Isaacs
1/15/2026
🇮🇱 Israel1 reviewsBasicLinkVerified
Experience date: 1/10/2026
99Designs is built on trust

99Designs is built on trust. If the clients don't believe they are going to get original work, leaving themselves open to possible litigation, they'll go somewhere else. 99Designs efforts to ensure trust is highly commended

Милош Тодоровић
1/15/2026
🇷🇸 Rs4 reviewsBasicLinkVerified4 reviews on this domain
Experience date: 1/6/2026
Arina was extremely professional

Arina was extremely professional, helpful, and fair throughout the entire process. She carefully reviewed my case, clearly explained what is allowed and what is not according to the rules, and handled the situation with great understanding and accuracy. Her communication was calm and respectful, which made a stressful situation much easier to handle. Thank you, Arina.

Judy Taylor
1/15/2026
🇺🇸 United States1 reviewsBasicLinkVerified
Experience date: 1/14/2026
Leah responded quickly

Leah responded quickly with a clear and helpful answer to my question about using the poll tool.

Frequently Asked Questions about 99designs

What is 99designs's Revenue?
99designs generates approximately $1.3B in annual revenue. With 3,749 employees, that's $347,490 per employee. The company has raised $45M in total funding.
What does 99designs do?
The global creative platform for custom graphic design: logos, websites and more. Hire a talented designer or start a design contest. 500k+ happy customers have used 99designs to grow their business.
How fast is 99designs growing?
99designs has declined by 18.6% in the last 6 months according to traffic data. employee count has changed by -1% year over year.
How do people interact with 99designs?
When visiting 99designs, visitors view an average of 10.6 pages per visit, and spend around 17:00 on the site, and the bounce rate is 35.4%.
How do people find 99designs?
646.7K people (48%) visit 99designs directly. 691.7K (51%) find them through organic search. 7.9K (1%) come through paid advertising.
Who uses 99designs?
99designs's top market is Indonesia with 334.2K visitors (24.8%). United States is 2nd with 306.6K (22.8%). India is 3rd with 186.6K (13.9%).
What technologies does 99designs use?
99designs uses 11 technologies across their website including Media, Security, CMS. Key technologies include imgix, HSTS, Squarespace, WordPress.
Who are 99designs's competitors?
99designs's main competitors include Fiverr, Upwork, Designhill, Freelancer, crowdSPRING. These companies operate in similar markets and compete for the same customer base.
What do customers think of 99designs?
99designs has a Trustpilot score of 4.4 out of 5 (4 stars) based on 1,495 customer reviews.

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About 99designs.com

The global creative platform for custom graphic design: logos, websites and more. Hire a talented designer or start a design contest. 500k+ happy customers have used 99designs to grow their business.

Company Overview

99designs.com
Website
business_and_consumer_services
Industry
#15,376
Global Rank
2.6M
Monthly Visitors
11
Technologies

Contact 99designs.com

Technology Stack

99designs.com uses 11 technologies across their website including imgix, HSTS, Squarespace, WordPress, and more.

Media

imgix

Security

HSTS

CMS

Squarespace, WordPress

Cloud & Hosting

AWS CloudFront

E-commerce & Payments

Magento

Analytics & Marketing

Datadog RUM

Traffic & Audience

2.6M
Monthly Visits
26%
Bounce Rate
11.8
Pages/Visit
12:05
Avg. Duration

99designs.com receives approximately 2.6M monthly visitors and ranks #15,376 globally. The website has a bounce rate of 26% with visitors viewing an average of 11.8 pages per visit. Users spend an average of 12:05 on the site.

The majority of 99designs.com's traffic comes from undefined, undefined, .

Frequently Asked Questions

What is 99designs.com?
The global creative platform for custom graphic design: logos, websites and more. Hire a talented designer or start a design contest. 500k+ happy customers have used 99designs to grow their business.
How much does 99designs.com cost?
You can view 99designs.com's pricing and plans on their pricing page. Visit their website for the most up-to-date pricing information.
What technologies does 99designs.com use?
99designs.com uses 11 technologies including imgix, HSTS, and 5 more. View the full tech stack analysis above.
How do I contact 99designs.com?
You can contact 99designs.com through their contact page.
What are 99designs.com's social media accounts?
99designs.com is active on twitter, facebook, linkedin, instagram. You can find links to all their social media profiles in the social section above.
Is 99designs.com hiring?
Check 99designs.com's careers page for current job openings and opportunities.
How popular is 99designs.com?
99designs.com receives approximately 2.6M monthly visitors and ranks #15,376 globally. Traffic is growing by 8.2% month-over-month.

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This page provides publicly available information about 99designs.com. Data is collected from various public sources and may not always be up to date. For the most accurate information, please visit 99designs.com directly at https://99designs.com.